Pod Gatherings

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We will begin promptly at 9:00 each morning. You are welcome to come early, but please do not be late as we will be taking full advantage of the cooler morning temperatures and the peace and quiet before people get out and about for the day. We will end anywhere between 3pm and 5pm each afternoon, so please be prepared to spend 6-8 hours outdoors each day.

October in Florida is still quite warm with high temperatures around 85°F (29.4°C) by the early afternoon. The water is a delightful 80°F (26.7°C). We will stay cool in the shade of the Banyan Tree and will be in and out of the water on beach days. We will be setting up a sunshade on Day 2 if the breeze allows us to.

For the full experience of swimming at the Pod Playground, we recommend a mask, a snorkel, and fins. Cressi is my favorite brand for comfort, durability, and affordability. I highly recommend the F1 frameless mask and the dry snorkel. You will not find a better price for quality gear. For fins, I am currently using the Rondinellas, but my next set will be these. For traveling, you may opt for a shorter set which may be slightly less costly as well.

Please assure that you are comfortable swimming in your gear before the gathering. We will not have time for you to get acclimated on the spot, and being unprepared and uncomfortable would only distract from your experience as well as from our limited time with the Pod. If you plan on swimming with gear for the first time at the gathering, we would ask that you spend some time getting comfortable with it at home first. It is also perfectly acceptable to immerse yourself at your level of comfort, whether that is waist-deep, chin-deep, full submersion without gear, or full submersion with gear.

As stated, this is not a “Swim with the Dolphins” gathering. We will be connecting in with the dolphins at a high level of consciousness and I can guarantee that they are very adept at working with us from a distance if that is what they choose to do. We will remain within a designated swim area and if the dolphins choose to approach us, it will be their free will choice to do so. It is best not to be overly expectant or overly excited and to just enjoy your time in the water regardless of their Presence.

The dolphins are immensely aware of every rippling effect they have upon all who are present, including those who are not part of our gathering, and they will present themselves accordingly. This may mean they keep their distance, it may mean they come right up to us in shallow water, it may mean they do something in between, and it may mean they do all of the above over the course of a single day. They know exactly what they are doing at all “times” and upon all levels of existence.

Manatees are frequent visitors to the Pod Playground as well. It is illegal to touch or to otherwise harass a manatee, but they don’t seem to care about that and may come right up to you. The important thing is not to go chasing after them, but to allow them to come to you if that is what they would like to do.

Please bring a notebook and pen on Day 1 and plenty of water every day. We recommend a gallon per day. Please bring a beach towel each day to sit and lay comfortably under the Banyan Tree and on the beach as well as to dry off after swimming. You may want to bring a different towel for each purpose, especially on Day 2 when we will be in and out of the water multiple times.

We would advise bringing natural / minimally chemical sunscreen (PLEASE do not wear the standard chemical kind), a long-sleeved rash guard, and perhaps a wide-rimmed hat for the beach. We are hoping to set up a large shade on Day 2.

Please do not bring your phones, cameras, iPads, smartwatches, or any other type of electronic device to the event gatherings. You may notice that I do not often share new photos or videos of these very sacred places, and that is because I have learned that when I have my phone or any electronic device on me, it greatly reduces the level at which I am experiencing them. We would ask that you leave all devices in the car once you reach each destination as this will make a big difference in our group experience, but you are free to return later to take photos on your own time.

For those who will be flying in, there is a smaller and more convenient airport in Sarasota and there are major international airports in Tampa and Fort Myers. If you use these, you will need to either rent a car or otherwise arrange transportation to the Sarasota area. We would encourage you all to collaborate on group accommodations and carpools to conserve resources. We will create a WhatsApp group as people sign up in order to share updates and to enable attendees to collaborate on accommodations and transportation.

Our October Gathering is non-refundable. In the unlikely event of a late-season tropical storm or hurricane in the Sarasota area, we will push the event back 2-3 weeks, however we are usually out of the danger zone by October. If necessary, there are spacious pavilions at each beach for passing storms, but once again, this is not usually much of a problem at this time of year.